


By your side

by thegoddessofmischief



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Dom Bucky Barnes, F/M, Female Friendship, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Foreplay, Male-Female Friendship, POV Female Character, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Gestures, Slow Build, Steve playing matchmaker, Sweet/Hot, Teasing, cat and mouse play, fuck me bucky in a white dress shirt, sweet merciful fuck
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-14
Updated: 2020-11-14
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:28:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27556873
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegoddessofmischief/pseuds/thegoddessofmischief
Summary: ”I’ll give you five seconds doll”, his voice surprised you as he mumbled the words low enough for only you to hear.”What?” You echoed, though unsure he even heard you. However, hearing the low rumble of a chuckle, proved otherwise.”Five seconds before I’ll come after you”, the last syllable turned into a slow drawl, while he slowly unwrapped his hands from your mid, placing them at your waist, drawing circles with his thumbs.”One…””Excuse me?””Two…””I...if you think you can just…”, you tripped over your own words, not knowing what to think of the situation. Though as you turned around, the words fell away instantly. You had never seen his eyes that dark and like watching a storm rolling in, you just gazed up at him until he chuckled.”Three. When I get to five, doll, your time is up”, he said, his grasp closing slightly over your hips. The shift made your eyes widen, while pulse quickly increased. You started to feel like a mouse locked in a cats cage and the second he said four, you turned around and fled.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Reader, James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader
Kudos: 72





	By your side

You did not know where you were, you do not even think God knew where on earth you actually was. Neither did you know what time it was, nor day, month or even year. You simply did not know where you were and how long you have been gone for. The only thing that gave you a clue was the snow you now where stumbling trough. It reached your shins and seemed colder than it had ever been. 

The shivers the snow would have made you feel throughout your body, beginning where it caressed your shaking legs, had long ago become unnoticed. The coldness now felt much too similar to a warm sensation. You could not remember when the feeling turned from warmth to needles prickling all over your skin, yet you appreciated it drew the last bit of attention from what you knew hunted you. 

You tried to maintain what urge you had left to move your body further and further away from the place of a hellhole you had escaped from, yet it became increasingly difficult. The rags hanging off your body had come from there, a miracle that they still held together. Maybe they did so from the wetness of the big snowflakes which slowly glided through the air, only to melt on your skin. Or maybe, it was the blood.

”Oh…”, it came out like a startled noise, perhaps closer to whine. However, the recognition of the red liquid coating you, made you halt and lean heavily on a tree for support. The throbbing pain in your body had gone unnoticed until now. But as quick as lightning struck, your mind and body caught up with the feeling of aches as the adrenaline started to thin. 

Your right arm, which did not hold you up reached to hold your head, trying to get the spiking feeling to disappear. But when your fingers touched your temple, you hissed and jerked away, making you sway from the rapid movement. While blinking furiously to try and regain the same amount of consciousness, you lifted your hand to look at it. At your now almost blue fingertips the crimson liquid was in such contrast it looked like it glowed. The sight made your head spin, differently than before, possibly from blood-loss, something which you abnormally had not felt anything of. Glancing behind you, you noticed there was an evident trail of red markings in the snow.

”S..shit…”, the curse came out in a stutter, your teeth now rattling worse than before. Pushing off of the tree, it seemed as if your legs had gotten used to standing still only for those mere seconds. Thus, the heaviness of them almost making you drag them behind you.

The wind had now escalated to become more than a hollow whistle. The howling echoed down from the treetops which had begun dancing far over your head. It masked your escape better than any coverage one realistically could ask for in the situation, though that did not ease your fear they had sent someone after you. 

No signs pointed someone did in fact, though it would be a surprise if they did not, at least after all the time they spent on you. If the people had succeeded in what they tried to do during your time there, you did not know, but you would have chosen to skip their one-star treatment either way. The sole thing that had been good in that place was when an absolute hell broke out. An explosion which made your ears ring and your already beat up body hurt, was the long lost distraction you have given up hope to wish for. 

The memory felt far away, even though it could not be more than a few dozen minutes ago. You remember guards running around as confused as you stood in your cell. However, compared to the guards, the continuing sound of explosions and screaming favoured you in the end.

Thus, from nowhere, a mass had suddenly broken through the wall beside you, racing right through the cell, fast enough you could not catch what it had been. But the enormous thing left a gaping hole straight to your imprisonment, a path to escape. Even though you had barley been able to stand you did, legs wobbly in the beginning but the thrill of getting a chance to get escape, making you able to push past it.

You had walked as fast as you could through the halls, which twisted and turned worse than a snake. You did not know which way you should go, which corridor was right or wrong. But the moment you had heard somebody shout behind you, far to close for your liking, you needed to choose. So you did.

Trying to run on already shaky legs was not easy, but you manage with breath quickly increasing to almost a painful degree. Despite the wheezing sound coming from you, the hurried steps coming from behind urged you to go faster. 

It was by mere seconds you did not give up and collapse on the spot, your saviour a door that stood slightly ajar only a few steps away. You had nearly fallen through it and as desperately try to shut it close once inside the room it was the entrance to. 

Never have the sound of metal to metal, along the sound of a lock sealing made you as happy as it did. Heaving for air on the floor of the room, you notice it excluded all sounds from outside, while a sterile scent floated in the air. You were thrown off by the fact, as the rest of the place smelled nothing but filth and stone. When turning around in suspicion, you understood why that was the case. 

Your eyes grew big as you almost threw yourself against the door to get out. The stool, which almost looked like a bench, stood lonely in the middle of the room. Trays and tables created an extra set of walls around the seat. That along the devices and liquids each was filled with almost made you gag. It was the room, that room which had made your life a living hell…

Remembering the torture you had endured made your already slow pace falter as you now pushed through the snow. A horrid pain spread throughout your body. The feeling so real in resemblance to how it had been, but you were unable to decide if it was real or not this time. It made your writhe in a vain attempt to escape it, ignoring the stinging sensation the movement once again gave you. 

Your sight became clouded with black dots reappearing every now and then in different spots, dizziness taking over as your body tumbled to the side. Your reaction was not fast enough, hence you colliding with the ground without a single move to ease the fall. 

You sank through the snow, hitting the natural hard forest ground underneath. The scream which ripped out of you was not intentional, neither controlled, but escaped nonetheless thanks to the blinding pain which came from your side. The blow left you unable to breathe, every ragged intake sending more of a skull-splitting pang.

Even though most things pointed to the fact that nobody hunted you and your fear, therefore, should have subdued, it had not. In failed attempts of staying quiet, tears started streaming down your face. They felt abnormally chilly against your skin, the sensation making it even harder to both keep still and silent. When trying to exhale a pain shot through your body, eliciting a gasp and sob from you. Sounds you suddenly wished you had not let out, as the sound of steps was heard shortly afterwards.

”Please tell me you’re there…”, the voice was calm and gentle, though the deep baritone of it struck nothing but fear in you. Your pulse skyrocketed and it felt like drops began to trickle down your neck, more possibly melted snow then sweat. 

You desperately tried to crawl away from where the voice came from. The moves were static, your muscles stiffened even though the fear surging through your veins should be enough to warm them up. 

As your arm suddenly dipped to lower ground, searing pain shot through it and made you collapse and land on your side. An unwanted cry spilt out from your mouth as tears begin to flow freely, whimpers uncontrollable. It was not only from the pain, but the sound of steps was right beside you as well.

”Shh… please don’t cry… shh”, the pleading did not sound right, that was the last thought you though before feeling warm hands grip your body.

|| 𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 ||

You woke up to a beeping sound and warmth created from clothes and blankets, yet you only remembered the cold. It had etched itself to your mind, like frostbite that never wanted to let go. If it were not for that, or the nagging thought of  _ this was not right, your captors never took care pf you,  _ you would have allowed yourself to be lulled back to sleep.

Instead, you struggled to open your eyes and during the time the beeping noise became undeniably more frequent. However, it peaked when your eyes finally opened, perhaps because you had not anticipated such intense light to meet you. You snapped your head to the side to avoid it, though that did not bring rather much success. Thus, dizziness spread throughout your head, a nauseous feeling coming with it.

You tried taking slow and steady breaths to calm the sickening feeling in your throat and stomach to not continue up. Nevertheless, how much you ever tried holding back the urge to throw up, it got worse, until you felt like your stomach started moving upwards. 

Hurriedly you leaned over the low edge of the bed. Thankful that it was not too high up and also that some angel from above had placed a bucket right by it. The stench and the feeling of your guts almost leaving you, made you continue. In your haze, however, you did not even notice someone held your hair away from your face.

The moment your heaves stopped, a light worn-out feeling made you tremble and curl into a ball. One of your arms clutched your stomach mindlessly and you tried to concentrate on the softness of your shirt, rather than the thoughts racing miles a minute through your head.  _ What had happened? Where were you?  _

Despite your state, you had noticed that this place did not look like the old one, nor did it gave you the feeling of it. However, more than to recognise this, your mind was too foggy to notice anything else. Even the individual walking around in the room. 

You did not know for how long you stayed like that, spent and with a bad taste in your mouth, but your rest was cut shorter then you believe it would have been naturally. At the sound of a door shutting, you groggily raised your head. What you found when looking, made you freeze. It was a man.

His stance seemed to radiate uncertainty, but so had everyone's when they came near you with the injection. But unlike the men in white coats, he was not frail. In that sense, he looked more like those who watched the events happen, those who did not even flinch when you screamed. Thus, even though his dark gear hid most of his skin, you saw that he was tall and balanced by muscles. Like those watching had been. 

The resurfacing memories of the similarity made you push yourself back against the headboard of the bed you laid in. However, you had not expected that he would instead of taking a step forward, take a few backwards. Something which made you swiftly look up to his face. 

There a stormy blue-grey gaze met your's, yet you did not stay long to watch his enticing eyes. Instead, your eyes flickered over his features, noticing the chestnut coloured hair reaching the top of his shoulder, reddened lips surrounded på a light five a clock shadow. He nearly looked as rugged as those who had dragged you to and from your cell.

”No more…”, you could not even finish the sentence because of the tremble in your voice. Even though you did not know who the man was, you could only assume the worst, a thing you had gotten used doing.

”Hey... no, I’m not one of them”, the voice sounded familiar, yet you could not place it. Then it hit you, it was the voice you had heard when it had been so cold. He had been the one following you.

”It… it's you", though the furrow that knit his brows together, his features shifted into a gentler one.

”Hey...”, he didn’t have the chance to speak further before the door to the room opened, rather harshly.

”Hey, how’s Frostbite 2.0 doin'?” A voice asked from the opening. Striding in you saw who the voice belonged to, also a male albeit shorter than the original one. He came in with a small grin on his lips, with something in his hands. Picking up what looked like a berry from the bag, he tossed it in his mouth. ”What happened, got your tongue stuck to an icy pole?” The man chuckled before he turned to look at you, freezing in his steps, face falling from his earlier amused one. 

His hair looked ruffled, almost as if he had woken up and barley brushed it more then with his fingers. His clothes were not as formal looking as the other ones, just everyday clothing. It almost felt weird seeing it once again, as you were the only one clothed in them in the last place. But that was not the only odd thing. From his chest came a soft blueish light.

Looking up at his perplexed face, you were met by deep chocolate brown eyes, as enticing as the other man’s, just in a different way. He did not have the same sharp features, neither the five a clock shadow, instead he had a well-trimmed goatee.

”Well, would you look at that, maybe your presence was scaring her awake”, he stated, elbowing the man lightly in his side. ”Best to call Banner”, he said fiddling with what looked like a watch on his wrist.

Even though the man did not mean to scare you more than you already were, his word stuck to you.  _ Scare you awake. _

You shuffled then, side-eyeing the door which still stood open, though the movement of the men made your eyes instantly glance back to them. It seemed the pair had redirected their focus to each other for a moment, speaking lowly among themselves. At the observation, your eyes darted back to the door. It was a small chance you had, one you were willing to take to not be stuck in the same clutches you had been before. 

As you began to wriggle to reach more of a seated position, you noticed a stinging sensation in your arm and a tug in the opposite hand. Looking down, you saw both an IV in the crook of your left arm and the heart monitor clip connected to one of your fingers on your right hand.

If your fuzzy mind had not already cleared up, you would have blamed it for your following actions. Thus without thinking, you reached to pull out the IV, the move automatically loosening the heart clip to fall off. The flatlining caught the men's attention, which quickly made them looked towards you, who now was standing.

”Stark!” The tall man urged the one beside him. You watched how both of their eyes had widened, while at the same time trying to keep your balance and putting pressure over the point the IV been. 

”Shit”, the other brunette swore lowly, though not low enough for you to miss. Though when continuing, his voice was raised to a more audible tone. ”Hey sweetheart, don’t do anything irrational now…” before he could end the sentence he had begun, you bolted for the door. The action was rampant, as you needed to put strength in both the leap and your wobbly legs to keep upright. But in the end, you managed both.

Your sudden rush of movement, made the two males alerted as they sprung into action. Being the closest, the one called Stark tried to reach you when you passed him. Although, even he had walked too far into the room to get a grip. Thus you slipped past him, disappearing through the exit.

Immediately you took in the new surroundings, which did not consist of more than a hallway going both ways. If you would've had the time, you would have investigated which direction was better to go, but the footsteps behind you did not grant you the time. Without any choice, you darted right.

Your legs felt more stable now, yet a new discomfort spread with every step you took. It felt like a stabbing sensation in your side, which reminded you that last time you had been conscious, you had a broken rib. That it possibly had not healed yet was an indicator you could not have been out for far too long.

As you only heard your own footstep echo through the corridor, you chanced a glance over your shoulder. Something you immediately deemed a mistake.

The man with stormy eyes advanced abnormally fast and silent towards you. You thought it as a wonder you had not noticed him beforehand, as his eyes burned on you like a prey. Glancing behind him, you spotted the brown-eyed man standing in the entrance to the room.

As you continued to sprint forward, the throbbing in your head increased, from an equal amount of stress of the man chasing you coming closer for each stride and exhaustion from your movements. The moment you started to also detect the horrid nauseous feeling, the man behind you looked before you and shouted.

”Steve!” You turned forwards again but did not register more than something golden before you collided with a chest. You felt how a pair of arms quickly wrap around your body, incasing you in an unnatural warmth which made you feel drowsy. With a head that suddenly felt like it weighed a ton, you tracked your eyes upwards to see who you ran into. 

It was a man and you recognised his hair as the golden thing you had seen before. Accompanying that was eyes which seemed like crystallised blue. Your eyes flittered over his face, noticing his shocked expression before your sight started to become hazy and eyelids heavier. The moment your eyes fully closed was the same your head to dropped without your command.

|| 𝓪 𝔀𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓮 𝓵𝓪𝓽𝓮𝓻 ||

Though you dreamed, you never remembered about what when you awoke. You only felt the layer of sweat and the occasional crust of tears along your cheeks. Each time you promised yourself, you never would rest again. But before you even had thought the whole sentence, you nodded off one more. For long, that was how it was, you drifted between awareness and unconsciousness until one day when you woke for the final time. 

You felt refreshed, almost like you had caught up to all the sleepless night you had the past years in imprisonment. Neither did you feel any sharp pains or queasy feeling in the pit of your stomach. The only ache you felt was the one of staying still for too long. You sighed, as you for the first time could move without fear of anything, that was until you caught sight of someone standing by your side.

They were two, as the last time. This time, however, you only recognised one, although his name was forgotten. The other one, had like his partner brown eyes and hair in the same colour, though no facial hair. You thought he looked kind, the glasses giving him a softer appearance than the one you already recognised.

They were not turned to you at first, as they looked down at a bundle of papers, but as if feeling your eyes on them, they changed to do so. Under their gaze, you squirmed, uncomfortable the way the one with the blue light emitting from his chest looked at you with uncertainty. However, before any more worry could settle, the one with glasses placed a hand out towards the other man, never taking his eye off of you when continuing to speak.

"Hi Y/N, I'm Bruce and this is Tony", his voice was gentle, soothing. When he noticed you relaxed at it, he pulled a stool forwards to sit at the end of your bed. "We mean no harm, simply to check in on how you feel".

And that was how it all begun, your introduction to the Avengers. Though Tony had been there the first time you woke up, it was only Bruce who continued visiting you the first time. You quickly learned through this, that he was a doctor and one of those caring for you when you had been unconscious. It made you trust him, unlike the other men with white lab coats you had encountered beforehand.

Then Tony started to follow with and you had gotten a proper introduction of him. Tony Stark, Iron Man as he had said. It only received a gentle arch of your brow at the way he said it like it would mean something. And at their reaction, it seemed like it should have. It was after that, they slowly started to ask you about your time before they found you. You always cringed at their question, although, did not refrain from answering them.

With no remembrance of a time before capture, they slowly started to understand your situation, even further supplying answers for the questions you wondered about. It had come as a surprise when Bruce, with a gentle expression in his eyes and a voice reflecting it, had explained your situation. He told you that those who had experimented on you, a group called Hydra, were out to create enhanced individuals. He mentioned that a man named Bucky, the one who initially saved you, along a man named Steve, both had those abilities. However, they explained there was one thing they did not understand. You had not come out like them, neither as they supposed you were before. They continued telling you they had a hypothesis that some kind of mutation between the stages had happened.

It was a lot to swallow, though you were thankful you did not have to do it by yourself. When you were good enough to not be bound to the hospital bed, Tony had offered you a quarter in the tower. Thus you had nothing to return to, it was not even something you considered before gratefully saying yes.

From there, you slowly but surely got introduced to the rest of those living in the tower. The first, aside from the two men, was Pepper Potts, who was the first one to seek you out to get to know you. She was Tony's significant other and she took you in as warmly as the billionaire had done. With the couple almost watching over you like their adopted child, you wary started to fade more and more for each day passing.

Clint Barton, alias Hawkey, the sharpest eye and archer of the Avengers was easy to get along with as soon as your introduction had passed and you quickly became close friends. His wit started to pull you out of your shell and by no time you met the other spy, surprisingly also the only other women on the team. Natasha, or Nat as she insisted, was a former Russian spy that occasionally scared you half to death but was a sweetheart nonetheless.

Another person that could deceive with his looks was Thor, the god of thunder. Though big as a brick house and with his otherworldly aura, he could be the biggest goofball of a gentleman there was. Despite his frequent travel between Asgard and earth, you had gotten to know the man quite well.

The last two members of the team had come to mean the most to you, at first, perhaps because you had something connecting you two to them. But as you got to know them, you understood it was more than that.

Steve Rogers, labelled the first Avenger and America's golden boy, fought for the title of the gentleman with Thor. He was calm and caring, nothing but a mother-in-law's dream at first glance. Though as you had grown close enough to be labelled siblings, you knew he could play the devil as good as anyone else. 

It was through Steve, you more thoroughly got to know his childhood friend Bucky Barnes. Though it was not until late you got a proper introduction to him, you had always sensed his watchful eye on you ever since you came. In the beginning, it had made you more nervous then it had not, thus the generally brooding looking man was quite intimidating by himself. Though not only had Steve eased your nerves about it, reminding you of what Bruce said early on, that Bucky was the one who found you. He also mentioned and continued to do, that besides that fact, his friend cared deeply for you because he knew what you truly had gone through, as he had done the same. He knew how it changed one as a person, even the long-lasting effects. Since the moment Steve had told you that and the more you got to know Bucky, you found it comforting in the end. To have someone looking after you.

From the moment you admitted this, you started to view Bucky like a rock you could lean and hold onto in stormy weather. The trust you put in him made him grow almost into a protector of you, hence why he always was there in the toughest of times. He was a shoulder to cry on the nights you had woken from a nightmare of the past. As well as the warmth that was able to lull you to sleep afterwards, thus, he knew himself only the closeness of a person felt safe enough to rest in.

However, sometimes the nights switched and you were woken to his agony. With a heavy, but also aching heart in your chest, you always made your way to his room.

If he already were awake, you were often met by his terror-filled eyes, believing you were something from his nightmare at first glance. Although if he still was asleep, you usually woke him with gentle strokes on his arm. 

This was something he feared at first, warning you that a side which had been created during his forced compliance with Hydra, could emerge when he did not have control. Though you fretted the way he spoke about it, you always calmed him by saying that you at least had the same training. Something he chuckled to, a sound you fell along with, thus both of you knew it was not the truth.

Yet the nights always continued the same, no matter what state you found him in. Either he would shed silent teats into your arms, or he would just sit there in your embrace as he calmed his wild thoughts. After that, when his initial fear subdued, you laid down with him, much as he did with you.

The heat and your consoling words or action, eased his mind enough to relax, later fall asleep. Though even if it strained, as soon he entered a dreamless rest, you always,  _ always _ left his side. Thus you were scared he would wake with you beside him and then question why you still were there.

Though you knew it was an irrational fear you easily could play of, the way you had come to care for him deeply, made you feel like it would mean more to you than him. Like many other things had become.

You valued the laughs you shared. You enjoyed the way you sometimes went to the extreme to tease each other, never needing to apologise, as you knew when the other simple joked. However, you always longed for more, more than his friendly touch or nicknames. 

”Hey, snap out of it!” Your eyes shot up hearing Nat's voice. She stood before you in a gown, a perfect fit to the party Stark was throwing tonight. ”Stop thinking like that”, she firmly said while continuing to style your hair to match both your dress and your already makeup coated face. 

”Thinking like what?” You could not help to feign innocence, even though the redhead since long had figured out your feelings for the brunette soldier.

”Thinking that Barnes doesn’t like you”, she snapped back, stopping what she was doing for a second to look down at you. As her eyes bore into yours, you felt her gaze was too intense to continuously hold, so you adverted yours down to your lap.

”I didn’t think that”, you defended lowly, though it seemed the spy still heard it. 

”So tell me then, why do you always leave him after soothing him?” You looked up to what she said, as the comment hit a nerve.

”Because that’s what every person with common sense does after comforting someone”. 

”Not when you like them and they clearly like you back”, it was your time to glare at the redhead, though she seemed to care less about it, as she continued working. Huffing, you looked forward, watching yourself in the mirror.

”He doesn’t”.

”Like hell, he doesn't. That smooth devil gets hearth eyes every time he looks at you, almost drooling to”, Nat scoffed at your comment and how much you ever wanted, you could not contain the small snicker escaping you. ”Especially tonight”, she declared and you raised an amused brow at her.

”If he hasn’t done anything up until now, why claim he is going to?”

”Are you questioning my skills?” She said, raising a brow which you only rolled your eyes at, while a smile played with your lips.

It took longer than expected, thus, as soon Nat was done, you jumped from the seat which had bound you the last hours. Instantly you slipped into your heels, fulfilling your outfit while the spy only chuckled at your impatience. She took her sweet time before joining you, which almost made you drag her along as soon she did.

As your room was not far from the common room, it did not take long before entering the place. As soon as you did, you could not help the smile which formed, as the spectacular balls the infamous Tony Stark arranged always was a sight for sore eyes. Thus wherever you looked, people dressed in nice, expensive, suits and dresses, sipping on drinks even fancier.

At the same time, you spotted the host, with Rhodey at his side along with some other guests, you entered the first wave of people. Naturally, they turned to look at you and while you had gotten used to the team's company since long ago, these setting still irked you. Hence you left Nat's side and slipped off to the side. 

Even though you tried making as few people notice you as possible, it seemed your tactic did not work, as many stopped your idleness route to initiate conversations. Each of them made you feel like you were a poor conservationist, though you knew it was more so the topics each dialogue entered, that made you seem like one. Hence every single one, sooner rather than later, entered a territory of compliments. Most of which in the end brought up the question if you were willing to dance. 

You were always able to nod your way through the first part. However, as soon as they questioned you about this, you cringed inwards while trying to, as politely as possible, decline and wish the person a good night. In the end, your saviour became your adopted blonde captain of a brother. 

Quickly you skimmed through the crowd after spotting him, just narrowly evading yet another conversation. ”Thank god I found you”, you said, while taking the empty place beside him. While doing so, you noticed his shoulder bounce, indicating that he laughed. After he controlled himself, he took a step closer to you. Simply so you would be able to hear him a better, thus even though the music was low enough for him to hear through it, it was still on the loud side for you.

”I think you have handled the night quite well, smiling and laughing and all of that sort”, Steve continued to chuckle lightly while saying this.

”Very funny, Rogers”, you quipped back at him, as he knew fully well how uncomfortable you could get in these situations. However, at this, he only shrugged his shoulder before changing the topic.

”Nice look by the way”, he pointed out noting at your dress. ”Fits you well”.

”Well thank you, mister, doesn’t look half as bad yourself”, you turned the compliment back his way, because well he did. A navy blue shirt made his crystal blue eyes seem to sparkle, and his hair shine.

”Well thank you miss”, he teased back before something seemed to twinkle in his eyes. ”But I know somebody who’ll like your style more than mine”, he continued, nodding as a greeting to somebody over your shoulder.

Turning around, you saw who it was, the sight almost making your mouth drop open. Tanned skin was covered by a crisp white dress shirt, rolled up all the way to his elbows. The way his metal arm reflected in the dimmed lit room as he made his way forth, only adding to his look. The dark costume pants he had chosen to match, creating a pleasant contrast. Your eyes trailed the clothes which fit snuggly against his well-defined body, that was until you saw his stormy eyes. 

You believed you would have blushed less if they had met your gaze, but instead, you felt your whole body heat when noticing they scanned your form. It felt like fire licked the trail his eyes ventured, from your legs to your face. 

”It got a bit too hot being a super soldier in here, so we dumped the blazers”, you were not prepared for the words whispered in your ear, your reaction coming as a hastily look at Steve. You saw him lean against the wall, shit-eating grin on his face. Before Bucky managed to come close enough to notice, you elbowed the blonde in the ribs, sufficiently receiving something between a groan and a laugh in response.

”Hi, doll…”, while Bucky’s words trailed away, you turned towards him again, noticing his much closer proximity, though not only that. You could not brace for the way his eyes once more scanned your appearance, only to snap up to your eyes with a coy smirk. "You look...good", he continued his sentence, though the last part nearly got lost from how his voice dipped an octave.

“So do you”, you noticed the way his eyes brightened and you could not hold a smile from spreading. It was something precious, almost bordering to private with the way you continued to look at one another. You felt how your eyes wanted to pull downwards, to take in his appearance further, but you tried resisting. Though it seemed you had not fought hard enough as they, in the end, dropped.

At first, they settled on his lip and even though the dimmed lighting you could see their pinkish tint. Then your gaze travelled further, to the button he had popped open at the base of his throat. It was not until you saw the place jump slightly as he swallowed, that you adverted your eyes. In a desperate attempt, you tried seeking out help from Steve, only to find he was not beside you anymore. 

”Little shit…”, you cursed the blond man lowly to yourself, trying to search for him in the crowds.

”Did you say something, doll?” Bucky’s low voice drew you back to meet his gaze. However, no words formed as you stared back at him, hence only a slow shake of your head indicated you had not said anything,  _ to him at least _ . Smiling then, he stretched his hand forward. ”Care for a dance?” The gesture made you smile and lay your hand in his, the first one for the night.

”Would love to”, came your answer as you saw the giddy, almost boyish grin he got while dragging you off to the dance floor.

Bucky had told you how much they danced in the '40s, also mentioning how good he had been at it. While at the time you had not believed him, you now understood it was the wrong thing to presume, thus the man could move. Though he took it slow for your sake, you realised it only went so smooth because he was the one leading you phenomenally. With slight pressure to your waist, he could redirect your step, while a small tug changed the direction. Occasionally he spun you, immediately falling into your step afterwards. Something about it made you smile, perhaps the best reason was his carefree look.

As he pulled you from his body, to aid you in another slow spin, you had expected it to be carried through like the others. Only that was not the case. Instead of assisting you throughout the whole rotation, the guidance of his hand disappeared and suddenly you feel a tug at your waist. 

Rather than meeting his front with yours, a surprised noise left you when feeling your back connect with his body. The pace of the waltz was quickly lost as he wrapped his arms around your waist and slowly swayed back and forth.

Though he had held you before, something about the way he did it now felt different. It made your heart pick up its pace as you could not concentrate on anything but the tender touch of his hold. It was in a daze you placed your hands on his forearms, feeling the contrast of hot and cold while settling into his rhythm of rocking. 

Your moves seemed to give him a sign that you were ok with whatever he did, thus soon after you felt his chin place itself on your shoulder. The way his breath fanned over your skin, made a shiver run through your body and unconsciously did you press yourself closer to him.

You did not know how much time had passed when Bucky started humming along with the slow song playing. The deep sound by the shell of your ear, along with the vibrations, made your body sag further against him. Now able to feel his defines muscles moving ever so slowly against your backside, you head dropped to the side, falling to rest against his chest. A happy sigh escaped you and though you could not detect it, Bucky noticed the way the sound almost appeared like a whimper. At that thought, he could not help himself as he let out a low growl and tightened his hold on you, naturally guiding your ass into his crotch. His stunt made you take a shape intake of a breath, hiding the gasp which otherwise would have escaped.

”I’ll give you five seconds doll”, his voice surprised you as he mumbled the words low enough for only you to hear.

”What?” You echoed, though unsure he even heard you. However, hearing the low rumble of a chuckle, proved otherwise.

”Five seconds before I’ll come after you”, the last syllable turned into a slow drawl, while he slowly unwrapped his hands from your mid, placing them at your waist, drawing circles with his thumbs.

”One…”

”Excuse me?” 

”Two…”

”I...if you think you can just…”, you tripped over your own words, not knowing what to think of the situation. Though as you turned around, the words fell away instantly. You had never seen his eyes that dark and like watching a storm rolling in, you just gazed up at him until he chuckled.

”Three. When I get to five, doll, your time is up”, he said, his grasp closing slightly over your hips. The shift made your eyes widen, while pulse quickly increased. You started to feel like a mouse locked in a cats cage and the second he said four, you turned around and fled.

He had, without your knowledge, led you near the exit closest to your room. Without even thinking that maybe this was his plan all along, you headed that way. Advancing through the crowd, you could still hear his low voice when he whispered five, something which only urged you to go faster. Quickly you passed the last people before being able to head into the empty corridor, though before doing that you glanced over your shoulder. You could not see him through the crowd, yet that did not mean you could not feel his gaze. 

In that second you decided, even though people could still see you if they paid attention. You hastily stepped out of your heels, picked them up and ran. The floor was cold against your bare feet, which now led you faster than they ever would have been able to if you had not discarded your shoes. A fleeting memory of the first time he had chased after you returned, only this time you were not afraid, but anticipation filled your body.

In less than seconds, you turn the corner of which your room was at the end of. Though before optimism even could enter your mind, you heard his footsteps. They were silent as ever, though you had learned to recognise them nonetheless and by the sound now, they were hurried. You felt the familiar adrenaline set in, a giddy smile spreading as you push yourself to reach the door which soon would be within reach.  _ Just a few feet more... _

You ley out a shriek as you got yanked away from the handle and pinned against the wall, Bucky's hot body pressing you against it. Your heels slipped from your grip as your hands instinctively pressed against his chest. The next second his forearms came to rest beside your head, not keeping it in place, though caging it. 

You felt how your lips parted, not only from the panting that caught up to you but also from how close his face was. It felt like time slowed, as you sensed how intimate the position you had ended up in became. Noses almost touching, breaths mingling, all while gazing into each other's eyes.

Though it was not until Bucky bit his lip and your eyes flickered down at the movement, your whole body became hot. If you only leaned forward a little bit, they would touch.

"Trust me I want to", it felt like he read your mind, thus why you did not know why his words shocked you. His mind pulled to the same as yours, telling you that this had been no ordinary chase form the very beginning. But the time for you to make a choice. Eyes widening in realisation, you tried to look up at him, but he stopped your movement by leaning his forehead against yours. "Just sat it and I let you go”, he murmured, yet his body betrayed his shaky words, as knowing he did not mean them. Thus, instead of putting space between you, he pressed his body closer to yours. Your breath catches in your throat from that, your words almost unable to leave you.

”I won’t say", you whispered back, feeling his head move to watch your arms venture from his chest to instead circle his neck. "I want more from you, so much more", it felt like a weight lifted from your chest when the words left you and when you noticed his smile, it felt like you floated.

”So you won’t leave my side when I wake after doing this?” 

”No”, you answered him, his lips now so close they touched when you spoke.

”Good”.


End file.
